The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (234 page)

16
 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
¹⁷
comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Request for Prayer

3
  
Finally, brethren
, pray for us, that
the word of the Lord
may speed on and triumph, as it did among you,
²
and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not all have faith.
³
But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from evil.
^d
4
And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things
which we command
.
⁵
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning against Idleness

6
 
Now we command you
, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
⁷
For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you,
⁸
we did not eat any one's bread without paying, but with
toil and labor
we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you.
⁹
It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate.
¹⁰
For even
when we were with you
, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat.
¹¹
For we hear that some of you are walking in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
¹²
Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living.
¹³
Brethren, do not be weary in well-doing.

14
 If any one refuses to obey what we say in this letter, note that man, and have nothing to do with him, that he
may be ashamed
.
¹⁵
Do not look on him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Final Greetings and Benediction

16
 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.

17
 
I, Paul, write this
greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.
¹⁸
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Commentary on the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians

1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:
The missionaries who founded the Church in Thessalonica. This is the second epistle they have sent to the congregation.
See note on 1 Thess 1:1
. 
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1:1-2
Paul describes the relation between God and the Thessalonian Church with two small but significant prepositions. Believers are united
in
the Father and the Son (1:1) by the grace and peace that come
from
the Father and the Son (1:2). In effect, the triune God is both the locus and source of every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3-14). 
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1:2 Grace to you and peace:
An early Christian greeting used by Paul and other NT writers (1 Pet 1:2; 2 Jn 3; Rev 1:4). 
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1:3 give thanks:
Nearly every Pauline epistle opens with words of gratitude (Rom 1:8; 1 Cor 1:4; etc.). His thankfulness rises to God for the Thessalonians because their
faith
and
love
are growing steadily in direct answer to his prayers (1 Thess 3:12). 
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1:4 your persecutions:
Trials began within weeks of Paul's arrival in Thessalonica when a band of embittered Jews instigated an uproar against the apostle, his missionary team, and their friends (Acts 17:5-9). Local antagonism has continued unabated since then (1 Thess 1:6; 2:14). Paul is proud to advertise how well the young Church is weathering these storms. 
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1:5-10
An apocalyptic preview of the Day of Judgment. Here Paul focuses on the outcome of the proceedings rather than the process: to the saints, Christ will give eternal life and rest, but to sinners, he will give a sentence of eternal death and retribution. This closing act of human history will forever separate the sheep and the goats, sending them their separate ways (Mt 25:31-46; CCC 1038-41).
See note on Rom 2:6
. 
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1:5 This is evidence:
Even before the Judgment, clear distinctions between the righteous and the wicked are emerging in Thessalonica: on one side, believers are suffering and yet holding fast to their faith; on the other, persecutors are harassing and abusing them in godless ways. This is a sign of blessedness for Paul's readers (Mt 5:9-10) and a frightening omen for their oppressors (2 Cor 2:15-16).
righteous judgment:
God will judge the world through Christ (Acts 17:31) with perfect justice and impartiality (Rom 2:9-11; 1 Pet 2:23; CCC 682).
the kingdom of God:
The heavenly inheritance of the saints. In Paul's theology, fidelity through suffering is a means of sanctifi-cation, i.e., it helps to make us worthy of the kingdom (Acts 14:22; Rom 8:17).
See note on 1 Thess 2:12
. 
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1:7 flaming fire:
Symbolic of divine scrutiny and judgment (Is 66:16; 1 Cor 3:13-15). 
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1:8 inflicting vengeance:
Assurance that Christ will right every wrong and repay the wicked for their malice should encourage believers to refrain from avenging themselves by personal retaliation (Rom 12:19; 1 Thess 5:15).
do not know God:
Unenlightened pagans (1 Thess 4:5).
do not obey the gospel:
Such as the unbelievers of Israel (Rom 10:16). 
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1:9 eternal destruction:
Not annihilation or the termination of existence, but an everlasting state of spiritual death, disinheritance, and damnation. For Paul, hell is nothing less than eternal separation from the peace and presence of the living God. Other biblical ideas and images fill out the picture of this terrifying prospect: the damned will endure "tribulation and distress" (Rom 2:9), "eternal punishment" (Mt 25:46), and "unquenchable fire" (Lk 3:17; cf. Is 66:24) (CCC 1033-36). See word study:
Hell
at Mk 9:43. 
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1:10 that day:
The final "day of the Lord" (2:2).
his saints:
Or, "his holy ones". This could refer to the redeemed People of God (Jude), but it is more likely a reference to the holy angels (1:7; Ps 89:7). Either way, their appearance in glory will magnify the glory of Christ, whose divine splendor shines through them (Phil 3:21; Col 3:4).
See note on 1 Thess 3:13
. 
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1:11 we always pray:
Paul and his coworkers practice what they preach on the subject of continuous prayer (1 Thess 5:17). 
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1:12 our God and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Several times Paul mentions the close relationship between the Father and the Son in his Thessalonian letters (1:1, 2; 2:16; 1 Thess 1:1; 3:11). 
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2:1-12
Paul combats misinformation in Thessalonica that the day of the Second Coming is at hand. This appears to be the teaching of doomsday prophets who may have gotten the idea from a misreading of 1 Thessalonians (especially 1 Thess 5:2). In any case, they apparently forged a letter to this effect in Paul's name and claimed to have had personal revelations to back it up. To silence these troublemakers and steady his shaken readers, Paul lays out the eschatological sequence of events that must take place
before
the "day of the Lord" dawns on the world (2 Thess 2:2). Though the basic outline of this prophecy is clear, no clear consensus exists in ancient or modern scholarship on how to understand many of its details (CCC 673-74). 
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2:1 the coming of our Lord:
The return of Christ, who will come again in glory (Acts 1:11) to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42).
our assembling:
Believers, both living and deceased, will be taken up with the Lord into heavenly glory (1 Thess 4:16-17). 
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2:2 shaken . . . or excited:
False prophets are unsettling Paul's readers, whose suffering and affliction seem to reinforce allegations that the tribulation of the last days is under way and is about to give way to the Second Coming (1:6; 1 Thess 2:14).
by spirit or by word:
I.e., by charismatic revelations. These need to be measured against apostolic teaching in order to test their authenticity (1 Cor 14:29; 1 Thess 5:20-21).
by letter:
I.e., by a forged document claiming to come from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy (1:1). Paul considers this a form of deception (2:3).
the day of the Lord:
The Day of Judgment.
See note on 1 Thess 5:2
. 
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2:3 the rebellion:
Or, "the apostasy". Paul envisions a time of terrible confusion and massive falling away from God at the end of days (1 Tim 4:1-2; 2 Tim 3:1-5).
the man of lawlessness:
A man of extraordinary evil. When he comes, he will
deify
himself, claiming to be God (2:4); he will
dazzle
the wicked with displays of his power (2:9); and he will
deceive
the world with falsehoods of every kind (2:10). Most identify this figure with "the antichrist" prophesied by John (1 Jn 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn 1:7) (CCC 675-77).
son of perdition:
A Semitic way of saying "one who is doomed to destruction". Jesus gave this title to his betrayer, Judas Iscariot (Jn 17:12). 
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2:4 exalts himself:
The Antichrist will declare himself God and demand to be worshiped.
the temple of God:
Identified differently by different interpreters.
(1)
Some (e.g., St. Irenaeus, St. Cyril of Jerusalem) see it as a reference to the Jerusalem Temple. This view entails a belief that the sanctuary, which now lies in ruins, will be rebuilt in the end times.
(2)
Others (e.g., St. John Chrysostom, St. Ephraem the Syrian) see a reference to the Church, since in Paul's theology, believers make up the true Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21).
(3)
It is also possible to understand the expression metaphorically, i.e., as a visual description of the Antichrist's supreme arrogance in putting himself in the place of God. • Paul's portrait of the Antichrist is modeled on the blasphemous villains of biblical history, such as the king of Babylon, who wanted to make himself like the Most High and sit enthroned in heaven (Is 14:13-14), the prince of Tyre, who claimed to be a god and sit in the seat of the gods (Ezek 28:2), and the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who exalted himself above every god and desecrated the Jerusalem Temple with a pagan altar and idol (Dan 11:36; 1 Mac 1:20-24, 54). 
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2:7 mystery of lawlessness:
The secret operation of evil in the world. Readers are already getting a taste of this through the bitter experience of persecution (1:4). The steady build-up of iniquity throughout history is paving the way for an explosion of evil in the last days (CCC 385). 
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Word Study

Restraining
(
2 Thess 2:6
)

Katechō
(Gk.): a verb meaning "hinder", "restrain", or "retain". It is used three times in the Thessalonian letters and 14 times elsewhere in the NT. Its usage in 2 Thessalonians is challenging to interpret. In 2 Thess 2:6, Paul speaks of a mysterious
power
(neuter) that holds back the man of lawlessness and delays his appearance in the world. Then, in 2 Thess 2:7, he seems to speak of a
person
(masculine) who performs this function until, at last, he steps out of the way and the man of lawlessness makes his terrifying debut. The identities of this force and figure have been greatly debated in both ancient and modern times. For many, the restraining power is the law and order enforced by the Roman Empire, and the restrainer is the Roman emperor himself. Others contend that the Holy Spirit (neuter in Greek) is the restraining power and that God the Father (masculine in Greek) is the Person who issues the restraining order. Still others interpret the restraining force as the missionary efforts of the Church and the figure who embodies this mission as Paul. Unfortunately for us, Paul felt no need to describe further the restrainer because he had already instructed his readers on this point when he was with them in person (2 Thess 2:5-6).